WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22) spoke on the House Floor during debate over H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act.

“If my democratic colleagues cared about the environment as much as they say they do, supporting the increased production of clean and reliable American-made energy should be a no-brainer. Passing the Lower Energy Costs Act is a critical step to lowering prices, creating good paying jobs, and strengthening our national security,” said Congressman Valadao.

Watch his remarks here or below: 

The full text of the bill can be found here.

A section-by-section summary of the bill can be found here

Remarks as prepared:

Thank you to he Gentleman from Arkansas for yielding.

M. Speaker,

This administration’s regulatory assault on American energy production has been devastating for my constituents in the Central Valley.

Every week I hear from my neighbors, friends, and constituents about the skyrocketing price of monthly energy bills. 

Over the summer, people in California were paying over six dollars a gallon for gas.

It is unacceptable that even though America has some of the greatest energy resources of any nation in the world, my constituents are having trouble putting gas in their tank and food on the table.

That’s why I’m proud to support the Lower Energy Costs Act and encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

This bill will cut red tape and allow us to increase our supply of safe, clean, and affordable energy.

I’m proud that language from my bill, the NEPA Adequacy Streamlining Act, is included in this bill.

This makes the approval of new energy projects easier by allowing the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to use previously conducted environmental assessments for similar projects.

This is a commonsense reform that removes one of the many layers of bureaucratic red tape in our permitting process. 

This bill is full of the same types of policies that streamline our energy production to increase our supply of clean, affordable energy.

I want to respond to the opponents of this bill. 

My democratic colleagues claim that the legislation is harmful to our environment – which is the opposite of the truth.

America has some of the strictest environmental standards of any nation in the world.

When we produce energy here, we do it cleaner and safer than countries we would be importing from.

Something important to remember is that decreasing domestic production does NOT reduce the demand for energy.

Reducing our ability to produce oil and gas in the U.S. just increases our reliance on foreign countries for these imports.

That means instead of using the clean energy we produce here; and creating good-paying American jobs in the process, we are reliant on imports from countries like Russia and Venezuela, who are not held to the same environmental standards we have in the US.

If your argument is that you want to reduce emissions, increasing U.S. energy production should be something you support.

Despite wishes from the president and the far left, we cannot abandon traditional energy sources like oil and gas.

While we, as a country, should continue to develop and pursue other sources of energy, we will need oil and gas for a long time – why not produce it here?

I support an all-of-the-above approach to energy production and use, but that does not mean immediately transitioning to 100 percent renewable fuels.

Until alternative energy sources are more reliable, we must continue to produce traditional fuels.

If my democratic colleagues cared about the environment as much as they say they do, supporting the increased production of clean and reliable American-made energy should be a no-brainer.

Passing the Lower Energy Costs Act is a critical step to lowering prices, creating good paying jobs, and strengthening our national security.

I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this bill.

Thank you and I yield back.

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